Page 62 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
Her brow furrowed slightly. “Occasionally. We get more wind than anything. Many times, it pushes the clouds away to keep the snow from falling. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop the frigid temperatures.”
He grinned at her response. “You don’t like the cold?”
“I’d rather have this weather.”
Shaw had to agree. It was warm without being hot.
She looked out the window. “This is my favorite season. Spring is nice because everything is budding and green again, but nothing is quite like the summer.” When she looked at him, he met her gaze. She walked to him and asked in a low voice, “What about the weather at Dreagan?”
“Dreagan is in the Highlands of Scotland. Many regions get rain every day. Our weather is unpredictable.”
“The winters?”
“Harsh, wet, and cold,” he told her frankly.
Her face scrunched up. “That doesn’t sound appealing.”
“It’s beautiful when everything is covered in white. The evergreens are coated so you only see a little of the green. The crunch of the snow while walking through the Dragonwood is calming. For me, I love to watch the snow fall. I love the flurries as they dance upon the air just as much as I love the blizzards where the snow is so thick you can no’ see much before you.”
“Despite my aversion to cold, you make me want to see it.”
“Then I’ll take you.”
She gave him a shocked look. “You would really take me to your world?”
“Why no’?” Why not, indeed? Now that he’d said it, he wanted to take her right now. Merrill or someone else could continue the mission.
That thought drew him up short. He’d never put anyone before an assignment. It wasn’t pity that had him offering, but he wasn’t sure what had caused him to even propose such an outing.
Nia’s shoulders lifted as she drew in a breath. “Maybe when things are finished here.”
“It’s a verra different world.”
“You miss it?”
“I miss Dreagan. And Scotland.”
She kicked off her sandals and crawled onto the bed to lie on her side. She propped her head on her hand and rested her other arm along her waist and hip. “I wouldn’t miss a single thing about this place.” She patted the bed beside her.
Shaw eyed the seductive position she had struck. His cock twitched as desire began to grow. He walked to the bed and sank onto it, shifting so he rested against the headboard. He held out his arm and waited until she was nestled in the crook of his arm, her head on his shoulder, before he lowered his arm. “Doona think badly of the entire realm because of one city.”
“It isn’t just one city, though, is it?”
“We’re still figuring that out.”
She made a sound. “You know it isn’t. There’s no reason to try and soften my views of Stonemore and Zora. My eyes are wide open now. I see everything clearly.”
“Nothing is ever black or white,” he cautioned. “Few are truly good or evil. Everything is various shades of gray. I’ve known good people who do bad things. I’ve watched an evil person do something good.”
“Stonemore is soaked in the blood of children. Those in power have had the chance to change things.”
“True, but you doona know their reasoning.”
“Fear,” she replied instantly. “You even said it.”
Shaw squeezed his eyes closed for a heartbeat. “All I’m saying is you shouldna see people or things as either good or bad.”
“It’s difficult not to,” she admitted in a soft voice.
“You thought I was firmly in the evil column until you met me.”
There was a slight pause before she said, “True.”
“Remember that there are a hundred different sides to every story.”
“And Merrill said you never talk.”
That made Shaw chuckle. He ran his hand up and down her back. “He isna jesting. I prefer no’ to speak. There’s just something about you that loosens my lips.”
“I’m glad, since you seem to have some kind of spell over me.”
He frowned. That was the second time she’d said something like that. Earlier, she had asked him to stop using his magic on her. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
